1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning dents of a reed forming a guide groove for guiding a weft yarn and air currents for carrying the weft yarn in the front surface of a reed, i.e., the so-called tunnel reed, for an air-jet loom. The cleaning apparatus moves along the the reed, i.e., in a longitudinal direction of the air-jet loom, to remove flies adhering to the dents of the reed.
2. Prior Art
The reed of a loom is formed by arranging a plurality of pieces of the reed having a dent at small intervals to form small gaps to pass warp yarns. A tunnel reed for an air-jet loom is provided with a guide groove for guiding a weft yarn and air currents for carrying the weft yarn in the front surface thereof. While the air-jet loom is in weaving operation, a weft yarn flies along the guide groove of the tunnel reed, and the weft yarn thus inserted is pushed by the bottom of the guide groove and is beaten into the cloth fell of a fabric on the air-jet loom. Short, fine waste fibers generally called flies produced from the weft yarns and the warp yarns during inserting and beating operations adhere to the tunnel reed. Although most part of the flies are removed from the reed by the rubbing action of the warp yarns exerted on the dents and the strenuous movement of the reed, some part of the flies remains on the reed, and the amount of the flies remaining on the reed increases naturally as weaving time increases.
Flies adhering to parts forming the guide groove of a tunnel reed reduce the velocity of an air jet jetted to insert a weft yarn. Parts of the front edges of dents forming the guide groove are finished in smooth surfaces to reduce resistance against the inserting air jet flowing through the guide groove to the least possible extent. Fly wastes adhering to parts of the front edges of the dents forming the guide groove form fine fluffs on the parts of the front edges of the dents forming the guide groove, and the fine fluffs exert a high resistance on the inserting air jet.
As well-known, the air-jet loom uses a high-velocity air jet for inserting. Since air has a small mass and a small inertia and the guide groove is filled with the atmosphere, the air jet diffuses and decelerates rapidly. Consequently, the yarn-carrying force of the air jet decreases sharply. Therefore, a plurality of auxiliary nozzles are arranged in front of the front edges of the dents and auxiliary air jets are jetted obliquely toward the guide groove through the auxiliary nozzles to assist the inserting air jet in carrying a weft yarn.
An air-jet loom, as compared with a water-jet loom and a rapier loom, consumes great power for a weaving operation because the generation of the air jet for carrying a weft yarn requires a great deal of power. Therefore, if the resistance of the guide groove against the air jet is increased by flies adhering to the reed, the force of the air jet must be enhanced to overcome the resistance and, consequently, the power consumption of the loom for weaving is further increased.
Flies adhering to the parts of the dents of the tunnel reed forming the guide groove must timely be removed to solve the foregoing problems attributable to the adhesion of flies to the tunnel reed. A conventional cleaning device as shown in FIG. 4 has been used to clean a tunnel reed.
Referring to FIG. 4, the conventional cleaning device has a carriage 3 set on the upper bar 2 of a reed 1 so as to move lengthwise along the upper bar 2, a rotating shaft 31 extended downward from the carriage 3 in parallel to the front surface of the reed 1, and a buff 32 attached to the lower end of the rotating shaft 31. A rotative driving unit for driving the rotating shaft 31, wheels and a running gear for the carriage, which are not shown, are built in the carriage 3. A section on the side of the reed 1 of a peripheral part of the buff 32 is inserted in a guide groove 17 formed in the tunnel reed 1. While the carriage 3 is traveling along the tunnel reed 1, the buff 32 is rotated so as to rub parts forming the guide groove 17 of the dents of the tunnel reed 1 in a direction perpendicular to the dents to remove flies adhering to the parts forming the guide groove 17 of the dents.
The buff 32 of the conventional cleaning device rubs the parts forming the guide groove 17 of the dents in the flowing direction of a weft yarn carrying air stream. Consequently, the parts forming the guide groove 17 of the dents are smoothed and flies can be removed to reduce resistance against the flow of the weft yarn carrying air stream. Nevertheless, the power consumption of the loom does not decrease to an expected extent.
A peripheral part of the buff 32 of a big diameter rotating for a cleaning operation in front of the reed 1 interferes with a weft sensor disposed at a position corresponding to the cloth fell, and a yarn end processing device. Thus, the cleaning device is unable to carry out cleaning work unless the reed is removed from the loom, which requires troublesome work.